France is not so far away…

Imagine waking up to a rich sea of fresh lavender – you’re in the quintessential Provence villa of your dreams, complete with open shutters and copper pots hanging on old nails in the stone walls. The paint’s a little chipped in your sitting room but you wouldn’t change a thing; after all, it adds to the charm of your prized, rustic flea market finds. You glance toward the gilded mirror thought to have once graced the reflection of a sixteenth century French duchess; its tarnished reflective surface still captures the beauty of life in the south of France. A dancing breeze carries the sweet, earthy scent of fresh lavender on the brink of the annual Fall harvest. Full, yellow sun streams across your pillow, arousing you from your peaceful slumber.

Luckily the scent of fresh lavender does not have to be limited to your sweet dreams. You may be more than 3000 miles from Provence, but these fragrant flowers can blossom with just as much joie de vivre in your very own backyard. Even better, there are pockets in the US perfect for growing this native Mediterranean plant – including areas of Pennsylvania (which celebrates with an annual lavender festival). A warm bienvenue to your very own potted piece of France!

Charming Peace Valley Lavender Farm with everything a francophile could possible need to transport them back to their dreams.

In preparation for my future sister-in-law’s Bridal Shower hosted by the women on my side of the family, I decided to try my hand at making homemade bath and beauty products. Stores like LUSH always bewitch me, entrap my senses and lure me in, like that short of Mickey Mouse following the scent of Minnie’s freshly baked cake. The mesmerized mouse floats in the air in a hypnotic bliss surrounded by ribbons of delicious pink fragrance. Switch the channel from animation to reality TV and you have me following the scent of bath bombs, fresh facials and body butters straight through the front doors of any bath store (haven’t you noticed you can smell LUSH well before you see it?). Why not learn how to bake the cake myself?

So this mostly why I was on the hunt for lavender. Besides that, after years of being immersed in French culture, I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate for a shower centered on the art of pampering. Driving through vibrant green forest of eastern Pennsylvania, down narrow winding paths and past sleepy towns awaited my francophile-fix of freshly cut lavender – the star ingredient for the bath products I was hoping to perfect.

With basic recipes online, I decided to use a little creative improvisation and add an array of healthy products to my bath bombs such as oatmeal, bath salts, almond oil and vitamin E powder, not to mention the fresh lavender. While I have yet to open my very own LUSH boutique right in my kitchen, learning the in’s and out’s to my most favorite body products was a lot of fun – and gave my about 20 extra bath bombs to do nothing else with but pamper myself! **Fingers crossed I find a Paris apartment with a bathtub.

The products were a hit at the Bridal Shower – everyone enjoyed getting a little favor bag filled with the homemade bath bombs, lavender bath powder and energizing bath scrubs that looked like little tea bags. Sending home each of the girls with their very own pamper kit was a delight – and not just for me!

Like anyone hosting a party, helping hands were needed – my cat Maiden was there every step of the way and was most helpful with the decorating! Don’t let her fool you – she wasn’t the Bride-to-Be at this party!

Packing may or may not have begun for my Paris move – but the days are quickly slipping away and before I know it, I’ll be walking the streets I’ve poured my heart out to be able to call home. I’ve work so hard for this and I have even more hard work ahead of me to keep it, but at least I have my bath bombs to help me relax despite the stress that’s often the unsuspected side-effect of making dreams come true!

Wishing you a relaxing weekend!

Tagged as: Outside France, Provence